Spotify versus Apple and both versus the labels

An interesting piece. Gets right its big point: the record labels and the streaming providers are on a collision course because the labels are now more middlemen than before. They don’t make ‘streaming’ physical records. They are less responsible for PR because both artists and streaming companies do PR. I can’t see why Taylor Swift pays anything to a label from streaming, if she does. The actual record business you’d think would tend to shrink towards making a living from its physical record sales, though it can’t/won’t go all the way there because they also find and develop talent. That entitles them to a cut, but not the cut their former power gained them, probably in both amount and duration. As in, you pay a leasing agent a commission but not forever. As to what’s not right, I think Spotify has a few advantages over Apple: it doesn’t tie you mentally or physically to an iPhone. You need a phone, which means you can change phones. I’d say there’s a real difference between not feeling you’re tied to a specific future investment and feeling that you are. Since you’re paying anyway … why not keep your options open? The other differences are more debatable.